NCPDP summit to explore emerging technologies

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs said Wednesday it would host an educational summit on the use and impact of new pharmacy and health-integration technologies next month in Las Vegas.

NCPDP’s educational forum, "Leveraging New Technologies: Impact on the Patient and Healthcare Industry," will take place Feb. 8 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The summit will preview the latest innovations that keep the pharmacy industry leading the charge for automation in healthcare to improve quality and efficiency, according to the not-for-profit pharmacy standards development organization.

The evolving role of pharmacists as essential members of the healthcare team;

Mobile health applications and devices and their role in consumer health guidance and engagement; and

Large-scale pharmacy automation that exceeds Six-Sigma accuracy.

Among the featured speakers will be Paul Oesterman, associate professor of pharmacy practice for the University of Southern Nevada College of Pharmacy; Robert Oscar, president of RxEOB; Robert Franz, director of clinical outcomes for Medco; Rick Sage, VP clinical practice for Emdeon; and Wayne Armstrong, SVP for Argus Health Systems. Paul Hooper, VP pharmacy network services for Emdeon, will moderate.

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who attend this program will be able to earn continuing education credits provided by AmerisourceBergen. Click here to register.

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association on Wednesday announced the winners of its Remington Honor Medal and other professional awards.

Named the 2011 Remington recipient is Paul Lofholm, president of Ross Valley Pharmacy in Larkspur, Calif. Lofholm was tapped for APhA’s highest honor for his “lifelong work in continuing education, advancement of pharmacy practice and support of student pharmacist programs,” the organization said. APhA members who nominated Lofholm for the honor spoke of his “contagious” positive attitude toward the profession, his efforts to mentor younger pharmacists and his work on behalf of many pharmacy groups.

The Remington Honor Medal, named for community pharmacist, manufacturer and educator Joseph Remington, was established in 1918 to recognize distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy. The Remington Medal and other APhA awards will be bestowed during the venerable pharmacy organization’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Seattle this March.

A PharmD graduate from the University of California, Lofholm has more than 40 years’ experience in the pharmacy profession and has served on numerous professional advisory committees and organizational boards. Besides running a community pharmacy business, he is clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, and an adjunct clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of the Pacific and Touro University.

“Paul’s long history of dedicated service is outstanding by any measure, as are his unrelenting contributions to the advancement of our profession,” wrote one supporter. “He is a pioneer in continuing education, patient monitoring and clinical pharmacy, all of which he advocated and advanced. Furthermore, as one of the nation’s first PharmD clinical instructors, he has precepted hundreds of students, further contributing to the future of pharmacy.”

Among other pharmacists gaining recognition for their efforts, APhA announced that Thomas Temple, EVP of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, would receive this year’s Hugo H. Schaefer Award. “Temple was chosen for his leadership of a well-integrated state organization of community and institutional pharmacy practitioners and dedication to serving the profession,” the organization noted.

Temple also was cited for his commitment to payment reform, the implementation of broad-based pharmaceutical care and dedication to the mentoring and development of student pharmacists, according to APhA.

Tapped for APhA’s Hubert H. Humphrey Award is Wendall Gaston, a Safeway pharmacy manager in Sidney, Nebraska. Gaston was honored “in recognition of his lifelong dedication to the profession of pharmacy and passion for healthcare, politics, community and public service, as well as his commitment to make life better for the citizens of Sidney and state of Nebraska,” the APhA noted.

The award, named for Hubert H. Humphrey, a noted pharmacist and former VP of the United States, was established in 1978 to recognize APhA members who have made major contributions in government and legislative service at the local, state or national level.

Julie Johnson, EVP and CEO of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association, will be honored in March with the APhA Gloria Niemeyer Francke Leadership Mentor Award. Johnson’s recognition stems in part from her mentoring efforts among young pharmacists, said the organization, including “serving as an indispensable resource of professional advice for the 400-plus PharmD students on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota.”

APhA also announced that Jeff Poston, executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, has been awarded honorary membership for 2011. Poston was recognized for advocating the growth of the CPhA and his work on activities that have expanded pharmacist-provided patient care services to community pharmacies.

TRENDING STORIES

Pfizer seeks to stop generic versions of Lipitor

NEW YORK — A generic version of the world’s top-selling cholesterol treatment is expected to hit the market this year, but the branded version’s manufacturer is trying to put the brakes on the launch, according to media reports.

Gurgaon, India-based Ranbaxy Labs plans to launch its version of Pfizer’s cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) in the United States in November and will receive six months’ market exclusivity in which to compete directly against Pfizer’s version, under the terms of the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984.

Dr. Reddy’s Labs, based in Hyderabad, India, had planned to launch its own version in May 2012, but Pfizer has filed a lawsuit against the company to delay the launch, alleging that the launch would infringe its patents.

The last of the patents protecting Lipitor’s use in adults is set to expire in July 2016, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The drug had U.S. sales of $7.5 billion in 2009, according to IMS Health.

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